Tessa's Knight
by Rachelle Ryan
Summary: X-Over with Quantum Leap. Sam is always leaping in to situations to save lives. Well what if he leaped into Richie the night Tessa Noel died?


Author: Rachelle Ryan  
  
Title: Tessa's Knight  
  
Feedback Address: Aisha_666@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Keywords: X-Over Quantum Leap  
  
Character Listing: RR T DM Sam Beckett and Al  
  
Summary: Sam is always leaping in to situations to save lives well what if he leaped into Richie the night Tessa Noel died  
  
Disclaimer: I don't anybody. Makes me feel like crying. Oh well, they all belong to either Davis-Panzer Productions or Bellisarius who has Quantum Leap's copyright I believe.  
  
Note of Explanation: I wrote this for a friend it is very short. There might be a sequel forth coming if I get enough feedback.  
  
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Tessa's Knight  
  
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The first thing I noticed about this leap was I was standing next to an incredibly beautiful woman. She was blonde, medium height with startling blue eyes. Her clothing was rumpled and her hair disheveled but that only added to her beauty. The next thing was that same woman seemed scared and nervous. Her arms were crossed protectively across her chest, pacing back in forth in front of a black T-Bird. Subtly I took note of our surroundings trying to figure out where and most importantly when I was and also what had this beautiful blonde so spooked. The dark grimy streets around us could fit into just about time in any city. The car next to us was a classic that looked nothing like the other rusted out 90'ish cars that lined the street. Prominently standing behind us like a lone castle was a huge mansion. It was run down and abandoned but it seemed to be the center of the woman's anxiety.  
  
"Richie do you think Duncan's all right?" The mystery woman asked with a rich French accent. Well at least I know my name now.  
  
Confused and not seeing anyone who could be this Duncan I replied. "I don't know." That seemed to make her even more nervous. Great going. "I'm sure he'll be okay." I assured her. I moved over to pat her arm and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the car's mirror. I was a teenage boy with curly red hair. My eyes seemed to contain a haunted look that he remained even through the leap. At least I'm a boy if not a man.  
  
I heard a click. Whirling around I found a gun pointed at the both of us. I have had a lot of guns pointed at me since I started leaping and a lot of different types of people pointing them at me but the ones I fear the most are the druggies. Maybe its because they are so desperate and irrational that I know they'll do anything. The worst thing is you can't reason with them. The guy pointing this gun was most definitely an addict. His blond hair was hanging in dirty strings under his bandanna, every visible part of him was covered in dirt smudges. His black leather jacket was torn and patched and the rest of his clothes hadn't faired much better. The way he held the gun I could tell he was either too high to hold the thing steady or he had never done this before. The thought that he didn't know what he was doing didn't ease my mind at all because an amateur can kill you as quick as any professional and are a lot less predictable. I started slowly edging toward the woman as soon as I saw him. Where the hell is Al? I could really use some guidance right about now. I was worried. I had no idea how this show down was supposed to end.  
  
Our mugger started talking but I was too focused on his movements to pay any attention. He and the lady exchanged words. He was getting aggravated and erratic suddenly he had enough. I saw he was going to pull the trigger a moment before he did. Not enough time! I jumped in front of the woman feeling three bullets strike me. Wait a minute I heard four shots! There was a burst of pain all at once as if the wounds had decided to start hurting at the same time. The world faded for a moment and the next thing I knew the lady was leaning over me. I had landed face up and I saw the stars winking down at me as my life slipped farther and farther away. I couldn't help but think I failed. The beautiful lady was crying and whispering things in French stroking my hair.  
  
"Its alright mon petite chou, everything will be alright." The tears glittering in her eyes made her look even more like an angel.  
  
"I'm dying Tessa." Wait where'd that name come from? That thought slipped away as I lost more blood and consciousness.  
  
"Non, you're going to be just fine." She picked up my head and put it in her lap holding on to me for dear life.  
  
I started gasping for breath. One of those shots must have punctured a lung I fuzzily thought. The world was getting harder to see. What if I die before I leap?  
  
"Boy, Sam you don't look too good." Al had finally arrived. He was bent over me wearing one of his famous outfits. This time he looked like a reject from the Adventures of Bill and Ted in a bright red and yellow stripped suit. Those colors don't do anything for him my muddled mind decided.  
  
"I'm dying." I managed to gasp out. The lady... Tessa started crying even harder tears hugging me closer and rocking me back and forth in her arms trying to will my death away.  
  
"I'd say so kid. But Ziggy says that in the other time this woman Tess..." Al started banging on the link. "Ah, Tessa Noel was the one that die and you Richard Ryan survived. In fact Ziggy say's that you originally weren't even here in the other time."  
  
"So I did right?"  
  
"Oui. You did right Richie. You saved me. You're my Knight in shining armor. Everything will be alright."  
  
Al looked at the tear-streaked face of Tessa than to me. "She's right Sam. You saved her life and Ziggy says that Ryan doesn't die either."  
  
"How?" I whispered out. I was running out of air.  
  
"It says here." Al said reading the link. "This is strange. It says in the police reports that Tessa Noel and Richard Ryan were mugged but it doesn't say anything about Ryan even being injured. Tessa Noel was admitted for a superficial wound to the arm." I knew there were four shots. Wait... Al looked down at me in confusion. I was as perplexed as him. If Ryan didn't get treatment how did he survive?  
  
Tessa had also heard my whisper and didn't have any answers. She didn't' want to tell Richie that she had no idea how to save him. She held on to her hope that somehow her brave knight would be saved. When Duncan had first proposed to her that they take in this scruffy streetwise kid she had no idea how much she would end up loving him. Tessa didn't want him to die. She wanted to see him grow old, get married, and have children, not die in an alley because he jumped in front of a bullet for her. Crying she kissed the top of Richie's head praying that he stayed with her just one more second, just one more.  
  
I was able to get out one more word before oblivion claimed me, "Why?" That one word meant a lot of things. Why had this happened? Why hadn't I leaped? Why didn't the report say I was shot? Just why? It was so soft I would have sworn that only Death himself could have heard me.  
  
The last thing I heard was a chorus of sorrow filled. "I don't knows." Then my eyes closed for the last time and I leaped. The image of Al flickered as Sam leaped. He knew he no longer was needed here but he felt guilty that he hadn't gotten there sooner. Maybe the kid would still be alive if he had. Al watched as the beautiful blond woman rocked back and forth with the body of her friend in her arms tears streaming down her face. Such beauty to be so sad he thought. Suddenly a man appeared. He was tall with long dark brown hair and eyes. He seemed to radiate power and confidence. When he saw Tessa Noel holding the long dead Richard Ryan he dropped to his knees next to her.  
  
"He's gone Duncan." She continued rocking. "He saved me. He...." Her cries then became loud sobs as the truth fully impacted. Duncan wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"It'll be alright Tess. He'll be alright." She turned a disbelieving expression on her face struggling away from his embrace.  
  
"How Duncan? He's dead. You can't be alright when you're dead Duncan!" Just then a loud gasp sounded out and the still form of Richie sat straight up grabbing his chest. Al was so shocked his cigar fell out of his mouth. People don't come back from the dead he thought. Al noted the man Duncan didn't look terribly surprised just grim while Tessa had an equally shocked expression on her face as the one he was sure was on his. She threw herself at Richie hugging the stuffing out of him, crying tears of joy, and thanking god. At that moment Al could no longer stay and the alley around him dissolved back into the inside of the imaging chamber.  
  
Finis 


End file.
